His Off-Season With The Denver Broncos: Building A Championship Team (While Nobody’s Watching)

Loren Landow trains athletes to maximize their athletic potential while reducing their risk of injury (Steadman Hawkins Clinic Denver).

There’s no doubt that the Denver Broncos’ 2011 season still resonates in a lot of our hearts. What if I told you that season may have not played out the way it did without one man? What if I told you that, that man isn’t even employed by the Broncos?

Meet Loren Landow, the Director of Sports Performance for Steadman Hawkins. Landow was the team’s unofficial trainer during the NFL lockout when players were not allowed to workout with their teams’ staff.

It all started with an email from Landow to Brian Dawkins in the spring. Landow wanted to help the Broncos “build a championship team while nobody was watching.” Only a handful of other NFL teams were organizing their own workouts, and it was usually the quarterbacks, the leaders of the team, that pulled everyone together.

The Broncos had no idea who their starting quarterback was going to be. Kyle Orton was benched in favor of Tim Tebow at the end of the 2010 season, and John Elway and John Fox were the new men in charge. The leadership structure at the top of the team was unsettled at the time.

That’s why Landow emailed the team’s defensive leader, Dawkins.

"In light of the current lockout in the NFL, huge ground can either be gained or lost during the early months of the off season. Whether it is speed and power development, general offseason conditioning, or team camaraderie, losing time int he offseason can be detrimental to success. Without a structured plan moving forward, many veteran are enjoying the “extra” time down before offseason workouts and OTA’s. The downside to the time down will be the potential injury rash that may hit players when the first OTA begins from not having a consistent and structured plan. – My Off-Season with the Denver Broncos: Building a Championship Team (While Nobody’s Watching)"

Dawkins took Landow up on his offer, and it paid huge dividends from the start. The players that worked with Landow remained injury free while players like Knowshon Moreno, Brandon Lloyd, and Marcus Thomas, who didn’t participate in Landow’s program, were already missing games within the first two weeks of the season due to injury.

The highest attendance rate for these workouts came from the Broncos offensive line. It’s no coincidence that the line helped the Broncos to being the No. 1 ranked rushing team in the league.

Ultimately, these sessions with Landow were designed to make the Broncos a strong bunch, and one that could make a legitimate playoff push because their bodies were properly trained to do so.

Landow and Mike Klis of the Denver Post wrote a book: My Off-Season with the Denver Broncos: Building a Championship Team (While Nobody’s Watching), detailing the journey of the 2011 Denver Broncos as they became AFC West champions.

I just finished my copy and it’s an incredible read that provides inside information like no other. Landow and Klis talk about workouts with Tebow, the major role that Brady Quinn had in leading this team through the off season, and what it took to run a sort of grassroots workout program for a professional team. Included in the book are also tips for minimizing injury and motivational strategies that can be applied to any sport.

Landow and Klis will be at the Tattered Cover Bookstore (2526 E. Colfax Ave.) Tuesday, October 16 from 7:30 – 9:30 PM to sign copies of the book. You can also purchase your copy there. In fact, Landow is making a great offering to anyone planning to attend. For every book purchased at Tattered Cover (the night of the event or earlier with proof of purchase), your name will be entered into a drawing to win five free training sessions with Loren at Steadman Hawkins, a $500+ value. The drawing will be held on Wednesday, October 17.

Landow has trained over 400 professional athletes including 17 NFL all-pros.

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